A week running the business from our holiday home has rekindled my enthusiasm for remote working. I find checking emails on the laptop infinitely easier if I alternate that activity with checking the sausages on the barbeque! With a few simple ground rules, I think it’s a viable option for pretty much anyone.

Written for TakeON! by Leah Fisher of ON-Brand Partners

I've been following an interesting conversation on Forbes that looks at the challenges of remote working. And, there are challenges, absolutely. But to my mind, these are outweighed by the opportunities remote working can create, provided that we manage it well.

Sitting by the beach while I crank out this article is magic. I certainly don’t experience this amount of enjoyment while writing back at the office! And it shouldn’t just be an option available to company owners like myself. All that’s required is a certain level of trust and a focus on outcomes rather than inputs. So, here are my five tips for bringing about the joy of remote working, while retaining the discipline of working in a team:

Be good at working on your own(And make sure your team members are - at least for periods of time.) Sometimes we forget that some people don't enjoy working alone. They find focus difficult, get distracted, or need to talk to others for ideas. Of course, people who ask to work remotely usually know that they function well on their own. It's their quiet space.

Build time in to get togetherOn the flip side, one thing most remote workers miss is some sort of regular interaction, so make sure to build that in. Depending on locations, you might just schedule a day a month to get together face-to-face. That might even be per quarter for more expansive operations. But we all need human contact at some stage in a relationship. It's important.

Use an effective communication platform that isn’t emailTransparency is key to successful remote working and a more active, social, way of doing business reduces the need to have meetings about lots of things. Some form of intranet means multiple perspectives can more easily be shared and thoughts captured. Even companies with every employee on just one floor can benefit from this kind of platform for collaborative discussion.

Get the technology working easily.Whatever the platform - Webex, Skype, Link, Join-me and many, many more - test it out and make sure it’s fit-for-purpose. Nothing is worse than when the technology doesn't go - particularly for the participants!

Make sure everyone understands the offer/expectTo maximize the chances that this approach will work for each member, get the team to talk about what they will offer the remote group, and what they expect from it.

This is a great conversation to get going. It sets out the way the group will work together. And, off the monthly meet, or weekly call, people can document it to ensure they understand and agree. These regular conversations can be used to address newly-uncovered challenges or opportunities.

We're still learning ourselves, trying to connect across only four countries but we're certainly seeing patterns. Relentless routines, and good practice really helps. Remote working has benefits for both employee and employer. Perhaps it’s just been given a bad name. Rather than “remote”, I prefer calling it “flexible” working. And that flex can be any combination of where, how and when. That's attractive to different people for different reasons. Anyone else got their five top tips?